Between DeflateGate and the defensive tackle rescuing a woman from an overturned car early Monday morning, the tone has been very serious at Gillette Stadium as of late. Wilfork injected some humor into his news conference Friday, however, when discussing how the Patriots are feeling heading into Super Bowl XLIX.

“Our confidence should be riding high because of — we won a ballgame 45-7, so I think in an AFC Championship game, when you can dominate a game like that, it gives you a lot of confidence,” Wilfork said. “We’re a team that isn’t lacking confidence. All year we haven’t lacked it. Even when we sucked, we didn’t lack it. But we knew we had to play better.”

Safety Devin McCourty, hanging out in the back of the Gillette Stadium media workroom, waiting to go to the podium next, cracked up laughing when Wilfork said “even when we sucked.”

Wilfork was referring to the Patriots’ 2-2 start to the season, including their 41-14 Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Patriots will face off against the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.